Indiana Fever (7-11) at Los Angeles Sparks (13-5)
Date: Monday, July 17, 2017
Time: 10:30 p.m. (EDT)
Site: Staples Center (Los Angeles, CA)
TV: none
Live Stream: WNBA League Pass
Probable Starters
Fever: F- Marissa Coleman, F- Candice Dupree, C- Natalie Achonwa, G- Erica Wheeler, G- Briann January
Sparks: F- Essence Carson, F- Nneka Ogwumike, C- Candace Parker, G- Alana Beard, G- Chelsea Gray
The Indiana Fever open a West Coast trip and four-game road swing in Los Angeles as they take on the Sparks for a third and final time this season. The stretch of road games is the longest of the year for Indiana.
Indiana remains one of the best free throw shooting teams in the WNBA. The team’s conversion rate of 85.9 percent is on pace for a franchise record, besting the current mark of 84.5 percent set last season. Shenise Johnson ranked second at a 95 percent clip before suffering a torn ACL, and Tiffany Mitchell ranks fifth in the league with 91.3 percent of her shots falling.
Storylines & Promotion
• The Fever fell to the Washington Mystics on Friday, 72-58, as Briann January led the team with 15 points and four assists. Tiffany Mitchell scored 10 points and grabbed a career-high eight rebounds off the bench.
• Natalie Achonwa earned her first start of the year, and scored seven points with five rebounds.
• The Sparks defeated Connecticut 87-77, July 13. Nneka Ogwumike led Los Angeles with 29 points, and Candace Parker added 20 points, eight rebounds, and six assists. Chelsea Gray scored 17 points and was 4-of-5 on 3-pointers.
• The Sparks will test the Fever’s defensive mettle, as they lead the league in field goal percentage at 47.8 percent. Los Angeles boasts the third-highest scoring offense in the WNBA, averaging 84.4 points per contest.
• Coleman spent two seasons with the Sparks from 2012-13 before coming to Indiana. She scored a season-high 19 points against Los Angeles in a 93-90 Fever win on May 24.
• Coleman is also 26 points shy of 2,000 in her WNBA career. She currently has 1,974.
• The Fever are 11-23 against the Sparks all-time. The Fever are just 3-14 in Los Angeles, though they have split the past four games overall, including a 1-1 record this season.
• Jazmon Gwathmey exited the game against Washington with a right leg injury. Her status remains day-to-day.